Professor Geochronology/Volcanology/Igneous Geochemistry
bsinger@geology.wisc.edu. Office: 387 Weeks Hall. tel: 608 265 8650
My research uses high-precision geochronology to resolve fundamental geoscientific problems, mainly in three areas: (1) linking the long-term evolution of volcanoes to current states of activity and unrest, (2) the history of the earth’s magnetic field and geodynamo, and (3) chronostratigraphy and evolution of sedimentary basins. The WiscAr Geochronology Laboratory is sought out by researchers and students both within our Department and from outside of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to address volcanic, igneous, tectonic, and sedimentary processes.
I am leading an international team to explore the impact of ice forcing on arc magma plumbing systems during the next 5 years. This project will collect new data and develop numerical models of how the rapid loss of the Patagonian Ice Sheet affected the composition and rates of eruptions at 6 volcanoes in the Southern Andes of Chile.
Teaching
Geoscience 140: Natural Disasters and Hazards
Geoscience 610: Geochronology, Timescales, & Rates of Geological Processes
Geoscience 771: Igneous Petrology for graduate students
Geoscience 370: Introductory Petrology
Geoscience 875, Graduate Research Seminars on igneous processes
Current Students & Postdocs
Jacob Klug (PhD, volcanology, igneous processes)
Benjamin Bruck (PhD, geochronology, chronostratigraphy)
Pablo Moreno Jaeger (PhD, geochronology, volcanology)
Youjuan Li (Post-Doc, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; geochronology)
Recent PhD Grads and where they are now
Nathan Andersen (Research Geologist, USGS, Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, WA)
Allen Schaen (Assistant Research Scientist, University of Arizona, Reiners Lab)
Introduction to Radioisotopic Dating (tutorial)
The 40Ar/39Ar method (tutorial)